My name is Dynasty Spinks Breazeale and I’m anti-racists. I am 16 years old and I’m currently working. I learned in Charlottesville is that everyone had the rights to have a voice and only the supremacists had permits. The things that were happening to the anti-racists was very devastating because i don’t believe in violence. I pray for those who got injured or killed during the car incident.

My experience as a teen is very difficult because there is a lot a racist people in my surroundings. I experiences a lot of deaths and tragic incidents.

I want our leaders to put a stop to the violence. This should be their priority because no one should have to be afraid to go outside because of their skin color or race.

I believe leaders of America should put themselves in our shoes and feel what we have to go through. It might be hard to do that because leaders can be racist, cocky, stubborn, or they are just too wealthy to think about other lives.

Dear: Dynasty Spinks Breazeale
I am happy with your post “ leaders, can you hear me ?” Because when I read your letter I felt every word that was written in it .
One sentence you wrote that stands out to me is: “I believe leaders of America should put themselves in our shoes and feel what we have to go through.” I think this is powerful because of the way you said it and the meaning of it to all America’s leaders .
Another sentence that I liked was: “Please stop the fights.” This stood out for me because it basically summarized all what we want to say and happen.
Your post reminds me of something that happened to me. One time when I was outside in front of our house in our yard with my brothers and sisters.They were playing and I was watching them and then suddenly we saw two men one is running in the street and the other man is chasing him with a gun in his hand then he stopped in front of our house in the middle of the street shooting right straight to the other man but the other man was already gone and we all were so stupid we couldn’t even move, we were just shocked standing in there watching the men , then the other man left too . We were so scared that day .
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because you’re one of those who gives and writes powerful words and have meanings to them .

I am encouraged by your letter, “Leaders, can you hear me?” because I feel the same way towards current leaders. Also, I disagree with the violence that occurs during these types of protests One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “I believe leaders of America should put themselves in our shoes and feel what we have to go through” I think this is thoughtful because your writing clearly attempts to give solutions for our leaders. This solution seems logical and it identifies that we must fix our country by recognizing how the people actually live first. Another sentence that I found interesting was: “I wish the future would be peaceful with no violence.” This stood out for me because violence is something that leaders constantly tend to ignore. Most leaders rarely mention that violence is a giant problem in our country. Your letter reminds me of something that happened to me. One time, I was at the supermarket with some of my family members. We were in line and we were ready to pay. The man had a basket full of food while we had the complete opposite. The man proceeded by cutting us in line. When we tried to say something the cashier had already started to ring him up. In my mind, I thought the man was accustomed to certain type of privilege. This man had a cocky smile as he was leaving. Lastly, thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because I enjoy hearing the wishes my peers have. Plus, I also liked hearing that violence should never be tolerated.

Dear Dynasty,
I feel empowered about your post, Leaders, can you hear me because all the things you say are true. One sentence you wrote that stands out to me is “I believe leader of America should put themselves in our shoes and feel what we have to go through.” This stood out to me because they look at everything at a different point of view. They don’t know how we feel. They don’t know what we go through. And for them to put themselves in our shoes it may be hard. Thank you for writing and sharing this, it was really empowering.

I am interested in your post because i agree about the “i don’t believe in violence” i don’t neither violence does not solve anything this does’nt mean i wouldnt defend myself when their is violence but it just means i don’t believe in it what is the point of it why do people want violence and why is the world full of violence in different area.

i do agree with you about how people should not be scared because of there skin color or race.One reason i say that is because i know people that just go from school and home and don’t come out because they are scared that people might hurt them just because of there race. Another reason i agree with you is because i think that that they should put them self in our shoe and see what they will do they.

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This is a youth-powered social network that was started in 2003 by a group of teachers from local sites of the National Writing Project.

We merged several earlier blogging projects. We have found that there are many advantages to bringing students together in one site that lives beyond any particular class. It's easier for individual students to read and write about their own passions, to connect with other students, comment on each other's work, and create multimedia posts for each other. Further, it's been exciting for us to pool our knowledge about curriculum, connected learning, and digital literacies.

If being part of such a community makes sense to you, we invite you to join us. We welcome all youth and any teacher interested in having students publish online and participate in the give and take of a social network like Youth Voices.